A friend of mine has a 1952 Imperial Limo that's been in dry storage for 35 years.. How should I go about restarting her?? I know the basics as I've been a pretty good backyard mechanic and work on high speed pkg machinery..Any tips or help would be welcomed...Thanks in advance...Mark

 

moe in wichita ks
the first thing is to see if the engine will turn over, if it does get a large sealed vesal, ie a 30 lb freon bottle. rig it so you can put oil in it then put air pressure so it is pushed out in to the engine oil passage. that engine has a oil passage next to the disturtor. this will lube the engine before its turned over. as you push oil into the engine turn it over slowly. let some drain out the oil drain plug, this will make sure the engine doesnt wipe out when its started

 

well first off i would drain and change all fluids..including gas andtrans.pull the plugs...squirt oil down each cylinder..not too much,then turn over by hand..let it sit for a while...turn some more.make sure fuel line is free of old gas and not plugged..you may have to tear down and clean..or replace carb with a backup if you have one and fill the float bowl with fuel...just pour some down the vent tube.pull distributor and make an oil pump drive shaft that you can put in a drill,slide it in place of distributor and prime the engine so it wont starve for oil.put in new plugs,wires,cap and rotor.while you have the distributor out check and clean/replace points..last but not least have a fully charged battery and you should be up and running!

 

That's very likely a 6 volt system in that car. You want to verify that before you put a battery in.